Leadership brings both honor and hidden weight, especially for those at the top. While leadership looks impressive from the outside, from the inside it can feel isolating, relentless and heavy. In his latest book, , 51蹤獲 president Barry H. Corey addresses the complex realities that come with the responsibilities of leadership.

Necessary Burdens, co-authored with Christian psychologist, leadership coach and Rosemead School of Psychology alumnus Dr. John Townsend (M.A. 82, Ph.D. 84), draws on decades of real-world leadership experience to explore the unseen realities that come with authority: loneliness, identity strain, accountability, temptation, disruption and the challenge of sustaining personal well-being while stewarding an organization. These pressures are not framed as failures or flaws, but as defining features of leadership itself.

As counterintuitive as it sounds, burdens the heaviest responsibilities we carry have the potential to empower leaders with greater strength, greater endurance, bolder decisions, flourishing relationships and inner fortitude. Burdens are the most effective growth points of any leader, hands down, said Corey. The burdens we bear as senior leaders and by that I mean the top leader of organizations big and small have the muscle to make our roles isolating and agonizing. It doesnt have to be this way. When anticipated, when carried with discernment, when shared with peers, and with a healthy perspective, these burdens dont have to shackle leaders.

The book, set to release on September 1, 2026, by Publishers, aims to help readers answer two major questions: How will you, as a leader, identify your burdens so they dont surprise you? and, How will you, as a leader, bear your burdens in a way that strengthens you? Each chapter describes one unique burden, 14 in total, and concludes with an application section written by Townsend. The application sections offer practical, psychologically grounded counsel to help readers navigate emotional strain, build resilience and cultivate the relational support necessary to endure.

The book equips readers to anticipate what others rarely name and to carry their responsibilities without losing their clarity, relationships or sense of calling, whether they serve as a CEO, president, founder, board chair, senior pastor or emerging leader.

The burdens of leadership are only increasing in this cultural moment, making it harder for leaders to endure and lead well. I wrote this book to come alongside leaders who may otherwise feel alone amid the stress of these inevitable challenges and to offer hope of growing stronger under their weight, said Corey.

Necessary Burdens is available for preorder on and through .

Corey is the eighth president of 51蹤獲 and has served in the role since 2007. He is the author of several books, including Love Kindness: Discover the Power of a Forgotten Christian Virtue. A native of Massachusetts, Corey received his Ph.D. from Boston College and was a Fulbright Scholar in Bangladesh. He and his wife, Paula, have three adult children: Anders, Ella and Samuel.

Written by Sarah Dougher, strategic communication manager. For more information or interviews, email media.relations@biola.edu.